The Dam Jawn: Forward!

An addendum to the title of the Amsterdam-based quintet Dam Jawn's latest album, Forward!, reads "featuring Dick Oatts," which is perfectly suitable, as the acclaimed alto saxophonist plays a pivotal role in the tight-knit group's latest discourse, as he did on its earlier recording, Master Street (Challenge Records, 2023).

For those who may be wondering about the group's name, it is an amalgam of Dam (for its Amsterdam home) and Jawn, a term widely used in Philadelphia slang and one that marks a semester the quintet spent studying music at Philly's Temple University. Oatts, a longtime mentor who not only solos often but joins alto saxophonist Martin Diaz and tenor Frank Groenendijk on the adroit front line, clearly enhances any enterprise in which he is involved, which is certainly the case here.

As to the music, it consists of nine original compositions, all but one of which (John Hicks' "After the Morning") were composed by members of the group including four by guitarist Joan Fort (whose spunky "Blues for Oatts" and sensuous ballad "Fairmount Park" are among the album's highlights). Diaz wrote "Maria's Lament," Groenendijk the title song, "Forward," bassist Peter Lewin the mellow bossa "Doors," drummer Nitin Parree the album's buoyant finale, "Shifts" (on which his sturdy timekeeping deftly steers the ship, as it does on "Blues for Oatts" and other numbers). The charts are burnished and admirable, the group tight and at ease regardless of tone or tempo.

Fort delivers a number of absorbing solos, most notably on "Fairmount Park" and "Song for Wong," while Gronendijk shines on "Blues for Oatts" and "Forward," and Diaz follows his lead, using soprano sax and flute to enliven the pensive "Maria's Lament." Lewin, as composer, assigns himself a long and charming solo on "Doors." Even without Oatts' presence, this is an above-average small-group session brightened by expressive solos, staunch ensemble work and excellent sound; with Oatts, it is raised to a level above that.